Or piles are covered

Various measures have now been taken to prevent further leaching from the piles of unused uranium ore located on Risø.

T Three large piles of uranium ore have been in the open air on Risø for about 40 years. The ore was originally taken from greenlandic Kvanefjeld in connection with a uranium extraction attempt at risø research centre. However, the experiment was abandoned, leaving the 3700 tons of ore as an unused resource.

The ore was stored in accordance with the standards of the time and in agreement with the regulatory authorities. Since then, requirements for discharges, among other things, have changed, and earlier this year Roskilde Municipality issued an injunction to Danish Decommissioning. The ore stockpiles must be removed from their current location by December 2022, and three months later the underlying soil must be remediated. In addition, various measures to prevent further leaching of mainly fluoride, lead and arsenic must be put in place already this year.

As a result of the injunction, the three piles are now covered with a PE membrane, which is also used in landfills. Sinks have been installed under the bunkers, and in October pumps will be installed to ward off groundwater pumping. The drained water is fed to Risø's treatment plant and checked before discharge into Roskilde Fjord for the content of flourid etc. A monitoring programme of groundwater samples from selected wells has also been established.

When a new upgraded storage facility is ready on Risø, the ore is expected to be moved here.

Read the announced injunction from Roskilde Municipality
Read the note on NIRAS'environmental engineering studies of soil and groundwater at the ore bunkers
Read DD Radonleakage note from the ore



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